Tamar Haspel

tamarhaspel.bsky.social

08 January 2026 21:59

What we know about nutrition is dwarfed by what we don’t know. Your best hedge against uncertainty is variety, and foods with nutrients intact. My dietary guideline: eat a variety of whole-ish foods you enjoy, in quantities consistent with the weight you want to be. Thanks for listening.

Tamar Haspel

tamarhaspel.bsky.social

08 January 2026 21:59

#3 - The focus on meat & butter is not consistent with evidence, which overwhelmingly points to sat fat raising LDL, and LDL being causal for heart disease. But they end up recommending 10% of calories from sat fat – new guideline, same as the old guideline.

Tamar Haspel

tamarhaspel.bsky.social

08 January 2026 21:58

Next is another silly comparison, this time of yogurts. My friend @kcklatt.bsky.social tackled that one, and it's more than silly: it’s wrong. (That said, the sat fat in some dairy does not have the same effect as that in meat. Butter, though, is like meat.) bsky.app/profile/kckl...

Tamar Haspel

tamarhaspel.bsky.social

08 January 2026 21:58

I did a run-down of the sat fat trials here: www.washingtonpost.com/food/2025/05... But the persuasive evidence on sat fat comes in 2 steps (both from RCTs). 1. Sat fat raises LDL 2. LDL is causal for heart disease The evidence for that is here: www.washingtonpost.com/food/2023/06...

Tamar Haspel

tamarhaspel.bsky.social

08 January 2026 21:57

Ah, saturated fat vs. seed oils. The section is essentially a re-litigation of the trials done a half-century ago, and a justification for using the ones that show no benefit for reducing sat fat while disregarding the ones that show a benefit. The reality is most were flawed in some way.